With continuing population growth and rising demand for food, livestock and aquaculture are integral to improving food and nutrition security, health and livelihoods for a large proportion of the world’s population, especially in low and middle-income countries. These positive contributions are being undermined however, by the negative effects of livestock production and consumption on society and the environment. Livestock produce greenhouse gases and cause environmental degradation, act as a stepping-stone for zoonotic disease emergence, and antimicrobial use in farming drives the selection of antimicrobial resistance genes. Furthermore, excessive consumption of some livestock products is linked to non-communicable disease risks.

The evidence base available for addressing these issues through improving livestock production and animal health systems is globally weak. We lack a systematic approach to understanding global livestock populations and the resources invested in animals by societies around the world. We lack understanding of the major constraints on livestock productivity and the means to address them; and we lack robust measures for the impact of livestock on food security, disease risks and climate change. In 2018 we announced the initiation of the Global Burden of Animal Diseases (GBADs) programme to address these vital issues.